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  #1  
Old 11-20-2004, 10:03 AM
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what does the steering damper do? 1990 300E

I have a 1990 300E with only 89,000 miles. When I make a very sharp turn at low speeds I hear a vibrating sound coming from the front end. It seems like the power steering comes off and on in real short bursts. The car also pulls the the right pretty bad. Im not sure if these two things are related. I here alot of people talking about steering dampers going on this model. Any opinions would help thanks.

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  #2  
Old 11-20-2004, 10:34 AM
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The steering damper is not a factor in the two problems that you mentioned. Did you check your power steering fluid level? Low fluid will cause the noise that you described. The pulling to the right is likely an alignment problem. Could be wheel bearings or other front end components.

At 89k miles, you would be safe to replace the steering damper on principle. To be sure, you could disconnect one end of the damper and check it for resistance when actuated. The damper prevents the steering wheel from reacting suddenly to road irregularities, such a potholes.
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Old 11-20-2004, 10:47 AM
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Location: Boonville Indiana
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Front End

If you have a front end alignment problem you should be able to tell from tire wear when the car pulls right. You need to jack your car up and try turning the wheels by hand and you need to check the bearings and the other parts by doing the 6/12 test and the 3/9 test.
Try raising the air pressue 5-6 pounds on the right front tire and see if the car will track any better.
While the power steering when low will feel like it is cavitating, a air leak on the low pressure side will also give you the same symthems. Usually the air leak will produce a low howling noise when you turn the wheel hard right or left at slower speeds. Jim
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Old 11-20-2004, 11:43 AM
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Thanks guys I will check it out.
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  #5  
Old 11-20-2004, 08:31 PM
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what is a steering dampener? It's basically a shock absorber which dampens vibrations in the steering system. It moounts to the idler arm brake on the body and to the drag link on the steering.

Take one bolt loose and push/pull on it. If there isn't a fare amount of resistance it's bad.

Definately won't make the car pull, but I eould'nt be suprise if your orginal one was getting weak.



Michael

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